Molded hollow shoe form



Nov. 11,1941. w. REINHA-RDT MOLDED HOLLOW SHOE FORM Filedl March 15, 1940 Patented Nov. 11, 1941 y 2,262,621 MOLDED HOLLOW SHOE FORM Louis W. Reinhardt, Brockton, Mass., assignor to George E. Belcher Company, Stoughton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 15, 1940, Serial No. 324,138

6 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in hollow shoe forms and to methods of making the same. l

Molded hollow shoe forms of buckram or like sized stock have been well accepted. One of the problems of the manufacturer hasbeen to provide on an economical basis such shoe forms sufficiently rigid for use and it is with this general problem that my present invention is immediately concerned. l

The cost of molded shoe forms of the type under consideration depends, to a considerable extent, on the stock used. Buckram, as is well known, consists of a plurality of sized layers of textile stock and its cost depends in part on the number of layers of which the sheet is composed. While it is possible to procure stock of sufcent thickness to establish strong molded forms, for practical purposes, it is desirable to use less expensive material and according to my invention to add internal reinforcements where needed to provide the desired strength.

The addition of such reinforcements must be effected without the development of hard lines, dening on the exterior wall of the form, the edges of the reinforcement. Such lines would not only be objectionable because the desired smooth surface of the form would be destroyed, but also because when inserted in footwear the surface of the shoe upper would likewise be affected.

In accordance with my present invention, I am able to provide locally reinforced shoe forms in which such lines are eliminated and to accomplish this result without an objectionable increase either in the cost of the material or in the cost of manufacture.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown illustrative embodiments of my invention from which the several novel features and advantages of shoe forms in accordance with my invention and the methods of their manufacture will be readily apparent. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a general view of a typical shoe form in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2| is a bottom view of the shoe form shown in Fig. 1 partly broken away to show the internal local reinforcement.

Fig. 3 is a view of a last with the shapedreinforcement broken away to show details of the construction of the last.

Fig. 4 shows in perspective the reinforcement removed from its last.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing a shoe form shaped over the last and the reinforcement,

and

Fig. 6 is a View of a modification of my invention. f

It will be appreciated that shoe forms of the general type with which I am concerned are made of sized stock such as buckram out out in blanks. When moistened, such stock may be shaped over a last from which it is removed and finished after it has dried.

In Fig. l I have shown a shoe form in accordance withmy invention having a reinforcement 2 for its rear part. The `form I and the reinforcement 2 includefintegral sole flanges 3 and 4 respectively. Y

In the manufacture of the form shown in Fig. 1, the moistened sized blank from which the .reinforcement 2 is' established, is shaped overv the cone 5 of the last 6 to which it adheres because of its sizing. The moistened sized blank from which the form I is established is then' molded over the last 6 and over the reinforcement 2 to which it becomes bonded.

In order to avoid any noticeable lines caused by the eXtra thickness of the form I through its reinforced area, I form the lasts i5 with a recess I in the zone to be occupied by the reinforcement 2. The depth of the recess l is determined by the thickness of the stock employed so that the reinforcement 2 when shaped with its front edge abutting the shoulder 8 is flush withvthe last and defines a smooth surface ensuring the desired external smoothness of the finished form.

Preferably, the reinforcements are out out and shaped so that their rear edges coincide with the rear edges of the forms. In practice, the rear edges of completed forms in accordance with my invention are trimmed after the dried forms are removed from their lasts, and springs or toggle units 9 or the like are then united to the inside of the sole flange 3.

In accordance with my present invention, I may also, as shown in Fig. 6, unite a molded shoe form II with its molded reinforcement 2 by riv-` ets I2. The rivets I2 preferably have a smooth flattened (rounding) head and a pair of prongs that can be tightly clinched through the inner surface of the preformed reinforcement band 2 to draw it snugly to and against the inner face of the cone area of the more rigid shell like upper member II. This causes the low at head of the rivet to be substantially in the plane of the outer surface of the form and thus be entirely free from any tendency to mark the lining of a shoe in which it is inserted.

The form II and the reinforcement 2 may be of the same stock and are each separately formed and dried. They are then assembled as by rivets I2 with the rst rivet being located through the cone portions of the form and reinforcement respectively. Other rivets are then set, preferably in pairs, one on each side of the form to ensurethat the reinforcement 2 is evenly disposed in desired relation to the form I I and another pair is employed to interconnect the anges 3 and 4.

Because of the relatively greater strength of thev vform I0, the reinforcement 2 is drawn in assem` bly snugly against the interior surface of the form I without interferingA .with the desiredr v smooth exterior surface of the completed form.` Because of this fact, in this embodiment of :myy

invention, the shoe form I0 and the reinforcemest 2 do not have tovbe made onv the lasts shown in Figs. 3 and 5, but may be made onidenticaly lastsof any type. n l

Because of the relatively small amount of stock required for the reinforcement of forms and because the completed reinforced lforms have a smooth surface,"shoe forms in accord-` ance with my invention are well adapted for economical manufacture and well suited for satisfactory service.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A reinforced last molded hollow shoe form including an upper and an integral sole flange,

a reinforcement of like stock for the rear part of said form interior, comprising a preformed' band ofthe area and ligure of the rear interior marginal zone at the rear of the form including the cone and its laterally extended side portions to` and including their sole flanges, means 1 uniting said upper and said reinforcement, the

exposed surface of said form having a normal smooth contour unbroken by ridge lines outlining the reinforcement.

2. A reinforced last molded hollow shoe form including an upper having a rear edge and an integral sole flange, an interior reinforcement of like stock for the rear part of said form having a rear` edge and including flange portions, means uniting said upper and said reinforcement with their rear edges coinciding, the exposed surface of said form having a normal smooth contour unbroken by ridge lines outlining the reinforcement.

3. The shoe form of claim 1 in which the unit-` nforcement being of sized textile stock, molded and dried, and means to unite said upper and said reinforcement, said uniting means comprising rivets, said rivets being disposed through the cone,v the sides and the flanges of said upper and said reinforcement. n c

6. In' a last-molded hollow shoe form, including an upper having an unfolded rearward edge and integral sole flange, said upper and said sole flange comprising a single layer of sized plural laminations of textile stock in cementitious union and a reinforcement of Vlike stock for the rear part of said form within the upper portion of the form and having its rearward edge coincident with that of the upper portion of the form and its forward edge extending into Ythe instep area of said form and cementitiously united to the inner surface of the form upper and wholly below its normal plane of last molding, whereby the outer surface of said upper presents the smooth continuous contours of the last without ridge line across its surface adjacent the zone of its reinforcement.V

LOUIS W. REINHARDT. 

